S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
254
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
(PREFILED)
January 9, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CAHILL -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Energy
AN ACT directing a study and report on current trends in the workforce
that supports the generation and transmission of power in the utility
industry
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. 1. The commissioner of labor, in consultation with, and
using data collected by, the public service commission, shall monitor
trends in the workforce of:
(a) personnel that support the generation of power in the utility
industry; and
(b) personnel that support the transmission of power in the utility
industry.
2. Not later than one year after the effective date of this act, the
commissioner of labor shall submit to the legislature a report on
current trends under subdivision one of this section, with recommenda-
tions to meet the future labor requirements for the energy industries.
The commissioner of labor shall have the authority to commence addi-
tional studies when (a) a utility initiates a rate hike request; or (b)
a complaint is brought by a third party. The scope of any additional
study can be broadened to include all utilities in the state or limited
to the evaluation to just one utility.
3. As soon as practicable after the date on which the commissioner of
labor identifies or predicts a significant shortage in this state of
personnel in one or more energy sectors, the commissioner of labor shall
submit to the legislature a report describing the shortage, after the
data review committee, appointed pursuant to subdivision four of this
section has reviewed and provided input on the report. The commissioner
of labor shall have broad authority to require utilities to provide
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00033-01-9
A. 254 2
documents and reports regarding their staffing practices. The commis-
sioner of labor shall have the authority to seek the following types of
information, including but not limited to:
(a) staffing-related service quality data;
(b) current staffing levels;
(c) recruitment and hiring plans;
(d) anticipated retirements;
(e) anticipated skills set needs;
(f) retention plans;
(g) succession plans; and
(h) efforts to capture knowledge from retiring personnel.
4. The commissioner of labor shall evaluate the data with the assist-
ance of experts in human resources, corporate management, internal
controls and business/planning policies, and forecasting and planning.
The commissioner of labor shall benefit by being informed by all enti-
ties with interests in, and relevant information concerning, utility
staffing issues. The commissioner of labor shall form a data review
committee and shall appoint one member each from the following consti-
tuencies to serve for terms of 2 years:
(a) a regulated utility;
(b) a labor representative;
(c) a state ratepayer advocate organization;
(d) an industrial customer or other large user; and
(e) the public service commission.
ยง 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
have become a law.